{Red & Teal} Rustic/Country Wedding at Twin Oaks Farm

Brittney & Thomas have to be one of the cutest couples I’ve featured yet. Seriously these two are simply totes adorbs together and when you view the photos taken by Brandy Angel Photography of their wedding day, I think you’ll agree that their love is a bright and radiant as their teal and red, rustic/country wedding, at Twin Oaks Farm. Take a peek into their special day and don’t forget to stop and read their love story along the way.

How did you decide on your venue?

After we got engaged, we began googling barns in middle Georgia and two came up. We scheduled an appointment for the first one and we loved it. The whole family loved it so much that Thomas’ dad wanted to place the deposit on it that day. We waited though until we went and visited Twin Oaks, and thank goodness we did. We arrived and we could not believe it. There was a huge red barn, a pond, plantation houses, fields, and everything else you could imagine on an old farm plantation. This venue fit our rustic/ country theme, and the barn was everything we wanted it to be! We were instantly hooked, and we booked it within two weeks of visiting it!

The venue, by itself, was absolutely beautiful so we did not use much décor. We got married under a huge pecan tree in the middle of thousands of pine trees. That alone was simple beautiful, but we did have flowers in rustic tin vases lining the aisle. We also had rustic doors that the bridal party and I made our entrance through.

The reception was in a big red bard. As you walked in we had our bridal party table. On it was driftwood, lanterns, candles, flowers, and at the head of the table was an old fancy love seat with dear antlers and flowers hanging off it. The tables our guests sat at were decorated with tree stumps, lanterns, driftwood, candles, and flowers. There was not one table that was the same. We wanted them all to use the same color flowers, but different decorative items. Behind the DJ’s setup was six feet tall letters that spelled love, which really added to the decoration. In one corner we had a candy bar. We used a wooden lemonade stand to make the candy bar and had barrel’s holding the candy. In another corner we had Thomas’s watering hole that provided guests with beverages. His watering hole was made with rustic tin tubs, and it really added to our rustic theme.

DIY Projects? MY sister in law, Mitzi, is a craft queen and she helped me make several things for the big day. We, or should I say she, made a schedule of the big day on a palette. I assisted her by handing her the paint and paintbrushes when she needed them, and through moral support. We also made flags of our bridal party. Each flag had a persons picture and name on it, and they were visible as people entered the reception, so guests knew who our bridal party was. Since Mitzi’s handwriting is also phenomenal, she wrote the names. I just handed her the pictures. Other than that, I stayed away from DIY projects because I am not all that crafty!

Describe your bridal attire: When I went searching for my wedding dress, I had a completely different dress picked out. However, when I got there the ladies helping me insisted that I try on every style of dress they had. I did as they asked and I ended up picking out a dress that I said that I would never ever wear on my wedding day. It was a little poofy and very simple, which at first I was totally against, but as I tried the dress on I fell in love. It made me feel like a princess, and I knew that it would perfectly match my venue. It was simple with a rhinestone belt to add some bling to it. I wore big dangle earrings to emphasize the rhinestone belt and to highlight my face and hair. I wore my, pinterest inspired, hair up because I wanted my shoulders to be revealed and so I could place more emphasis on the sweetheart neckline of my dress. Although you could not see them, I wore my favorite pair of shoes, my cowboy boots. The cowboy boots matched our rustic venue and both of our personalities.

What inspired the wedding day outfits? We are both from middle Georgia, and we are what people would consider “country bumpkins”. We wanted to incorporate our country and classy personalities and interests into the wedding.

The boys wore their cowboy boots and a shotgun shell boutonniere to represent their southern style, and they wore bow ties and suspenders because I, Brittney, thought they would be classy and would look absolutely precious on them. The girls wore long versatile dresses that they wore how they desired too. They also wore shoes that represented their personality. All of my bridesmaid’s personalities are so different and I knew they could shine through their favorite shoes.

Where did you get the inspiration for your color palette and design? The first time I asked Thomas what colors he wanted to use, he immediately said red. He wanted to incorporate red and red bandanas throughout the wedding. In 2013 his good friend Corey Wilson passed away, and one thing that symbolizes him is a red bandana. Thomas wanted to incorporate Corey and red in our big special day! Since Thomas chose red, I chose teal because it is my absolute favorite color, and I thought the two colors would look very nice together. We decided on a rustic/ country themed wedding because that represents who we are and our interests.

When I asked Thomas if he wanted to do a first look, he didn’t understand the concept behind it. His mom and I had to explain to him that it would be the first time he saw me in such attire and there would be a vast amount of emotions. He looked at us, dead serious, and said she is beautiful everyday when I see, so what will be different. We tried to get the concept across to him, but we did not get very far. So we made the decision to do a first look before the ceremony because we wanted a time where it was just us together that would allow us to reveal whatever emotions we wanted to. Thomas is a tough guy and I knew he would not show true emotions in front of a crowd, and I wanted to see his true emotion when he saw me for the first time. I am very glad that we did the first look before the ceremony because I was very nervous beforehand and seeing him before the ceremony really calmed my nerves and gave me a minute to release some tears.

The venue, by itself, was absolutely beautiful so we did not use much décor. We got married under a huge pecan tree in the middle of thousands of pine trees. That alone was simple beautiful, but we did have flowers in rustic tin vases lining the aisle. We also had rustic doors that the bridal party and I made our entrance through.

How did you meet?

We grew up living in the same town, but we lived on two opposite sides, went to two different high schools, and did not run into each other until the summer after our freshman year of college. We had a mutual best friend, Amber. She had mentioned us meeting several times, but we were both content with doing our own thing. However, she invited us both to a pool party at her house the end of our freshman year of college. When I arrived, Thomas introduced himself. He was in shorts, no shirt, and he had on Georgia boots. I remember thinking this boy is as country as it gets, but I kind of like it. We were inseparable that night, and we have been together since.

Who proposed marriage and how did that proposal happen?

Thomas proposed to me on Christmas 2014. I actually had been sick all day with a stomach virus, and I was absolutely miserable. I almost skipped out on family Christmas because I felt so bad. However, he convinced me to go to my mom’s Christmas. He went with me, but he also invited his parents. I thought this was weird and I questioned him, and his response was “they do not have anything to do tonight and its Christmas, and they also want to get to know your family better.” Gullable me said okay and did not think anything else about it.

My mom’s family always opens presents by age and one at a time. The youngest usually starts and the oldest person finishes. So my mom told us to begin and I called for my sister to go first, but Thomas said no that he wanted me to go first. He had this HUGE gift for me, and I had been trying to figure out what it was since I saw it. I proceeded to open it, and I saw a flat screen tv box. I immediately looked at him and said this better not be the tv you just bought for yourself and now you are giving it to me. I proceeded to open it and there was soooo much paper in there. As I’m pulling out, what seems like, 50 pounds of paper, I am asking him why he has done this to me. I literally thought he had given me a gift to unwrap that did not even have a present in it. The last time I questioned him about it, he told me to turn around and there he was on one knee with the ring. He was so nervous that he was at a loss for words, so we both just stared at each other for a moment until he got the courage to ask me to marry him. It was so cute, and of course I said yes! After I said yes, I instantly began to feel better.

Three things you’re glad you did.

1. We are glad that we had Thomas’s best friend, John Paul Sheppard, sing Heaven by Jason Aldean during our ceremony. My mom walked down the aisle to Heaven by Bryan Adams at her wedding, and it was one of our songs when we first started dating. It had great significance, and even though we decided that we wanted John Paul to sing it one week before the wedding, he did a remarkable job.

2. We are both so glad that we had a first look before the ceremony. It gave us a few moments to spend and enjoy time together and portray whatever emotions we desired. For me, Brittney, it really calmed my nerves because I was a nervous wreck before hand.

3. We are so glad that we chose Tim Jackson, Twin Oaks Farm, Brandy Angel Photography, Southern Heritage, Luella Designs, DKH Entertainment, Lance Smith, and Lori Thigpen to help assist with marrying us, providing us a breathtaking venue, capturing special moments of our day, providing delicious food, decorating the venue beautifully, entertaining our guests, and making the best wedding cake and Minion cake I have ever seen and tasted. We enjoyed every aspect of our wedding day, and it would not have been possible without our families, friends, and the businesses that came out to celebrate our special day and make it everything that we ever imagined!

What are some of your favorite memories of the day?

Thomas: My favorite memory was seeing Brittney for the first time in her wedding dress. She looked absolutely stunning and I have never been so happy in my life. It took my breath away just seeing her glowing.

Brittney: The whole entire day was absolutely wonderful, and it is hard to choose a few of my favorite memories. I must say that the ceremony was one of my favorites. I have never felt so gitty and excited in my entire life. I could barely control my excitement while we were standing at the alter. As we were standing there and repeating after the preacher, Thomas was being his usual goofy self and making faces and whispering things to me. It made the moment even more special because his true personality was shining through.

Brittney: I will forever have Thomas’s garter removal dance in my head. We chose the song Let’s Get it On by Marvin Gaye as the garter removal song. The DJ began playing it and Thomas began dancing, but after about 15 seconds the DJ changed the song to Pony by Genuine. Little did the DJ know, but this is one of Thomas’s favorite songs and he plays and dances to it pretty often. Thomas began dancing his way towards me, and it was absolutely precious! He danced the entire song, and I coached him on how to remove the garter when he finally made his way to me because he was unsure on how to get it.

Do You have any advice for other brides?

Brides, enjoy every minute of planning for your big day because it goes by so fast! Also, make sure your significant other’s opinions are considered in how things are decorated and scheduled for the big day. Thomas really enjoyed the times when he was able to assist me with wedding details! It made him feel special.